LOS ANGELES — As pitching matchups go Lucas Giolito Jersey , it would be hard to tilt the scales any more in one direction than they will be when the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers meet Saturday evening in Los Angeles.The Padres will go with right-hander Brett Kennedy and his three career starts. The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw and his three Cy Young Awards.Kennedy (0-2, 8.36 ERA) has yet to win his first major league game, although he finally looks to be getting comfortable with his surroundings. After getting crushed for a combined 11 runs on 20 hits over his first two big league starts, Kennedy held the Arizona Diamondbacks to two runs on six hits over five innings Sunday.Article continues below ...Without a blazing fastball to work with, Kennedy has to rely on pinpoint control. Even though he was better in his start against the Diamondbacks, he did issue three walks. He will now face a Dodgers team that typically is disciplined when it comes to the strike zone.“He definitely threw the ball better; I thought his secondary stuff was better last time out,” Padres manager Andy Green said about Kennedy. “(The Dodgers) team will be a real challenge for him. They will load (the lineup) down with lefties and he’s going to have to execute to pitch well against them. I look forward to him rising up to meet that challenge, but it takes a while for some guys to get their footing in the big leagues and he’s starting to find it.”Pitching opposite Kershaw could present an intimidation factor, although Kennedy already has dealt with pitching against an ace. Zack Greinke was the Diamondbacks’ pitcher when Kennedy last took the mound.Meeting Kershaw at Dodger Stadium, though http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-nicky-delmonico-jersey , is a different level entirely. And Kershaw (6-5, 2.40) has been as good as ever lately, going unbeaten over his last five starts with a 1.82 ERA over 34 2/3 innings in that stretch.Kershaw last lost a game on July 21, and even then he gave up just one earned run. The defense let him down to the tune of three unearned runs that day against the Brewers. Since June 23, when Kershaw returned from his second stint on the disabled list, he is 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA.Add to the mix an increased sense of urgency from Kershaw and the Padres figure to be in a tough spot Saturday.“I don’t know how many games we’ve got left, but it’s now or never,” Kershaw said, according to mlb.com. “We better start playing, we better get good.”Kershaw is 18-6 with a 1.89 ERA in 33 career starts against San Diego Reynaldo Lopez Jersey , and he pitched six scoreless innings in his only start against the Padres this season.The Dodgers’ inconsistent offense roared back to life Friday in an 11-1 victory over the Padres, with Chris Taylor, Justin Turner and Max Muncy hitting home runs. Muncy moved one home run away from No. 30 on the season.The victory helped the Dodgers gain a game on the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks as they moved 3 1/2 games out of the division’s top spot. The Dodgers also moved 2 1/2 games behind the second-place Colorado Rockies. DETROIT (AP) — With his major league debut out of the way, Michael Kopech was able to take the mound with a little less fanfare the second time around.“I felt calm,” the Chicago rookie said. “I felt comfortable. I felt relaxed. It was still a great experience. I just felt a lot more easygoing today.”Kopech pitched six impressive innings for his first big league win and the Chicago White Sox scored four runs in the third on their way to a 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Kopech was limited to two scoreless innings when it rained in his debut Tuesday against Minnesota. The highly touted right-hander threw 86 pitches Sunday, allowing a run and seven hits.“I know it sounds silly to say that in my second start in the big leagues I didn’t have my best stuff, but I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Kopech said. “It was one of those outings where I had to grind through it.”Kopech (1-0) had four strikeouts and no walks. Daniel Palka homered for Chicago, and Ronny Rodriguez went deep for Detroit.Jace Fry came on in the ninth for the White Sox with the bases loaded and one out, and he retired the final two batters for his third save.Jordan Zimmermann (6-6) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings for the Tigers http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-bruce-rondon-jersey , who retired Alan Trammell’s No. 3 in a pregame ceremony that delayed the start of the game for almost a half-hour.Kopech’s first few days in the majors included an apology from the rookie after racist and homophobic tweets of his surfaced from 2013. He told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday that things he said were “immature and inappropriate.”Kopech took the mound Sunday and shut out the Tigers for the first five innings. He hit two batters with pitches in the fourth but retired Rodriguez on a fly to center with the bases loaded to end the threat.Zimmermann yielded two straight singles to start the third. He nearly got out of the inning after Yolmer Sanchez lined into a double play, but Tim Anderson followed with a double and Avisail Garcia hit a two-run single.Palka then lined a two-run shot just fair down the line in right to make it 4-0. It was his 19th homer of the year.“These guys just are really aggressive hitters,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “When you’re around the zone a lot — they put some swings on him.”Yoan Moncada hit an RBI triple in the sixth before the Tigers finally scored in the bottom of the inning. Victor Martinez hit an RBI double, and Rodriguez again came up with the bases loaded, this time with one out. The count went to 3-0 before Rodriguez took a strike and hit the next pitch on the ground for a double play.That was a good note to end on for Kopech.“Any time a pitcher gets into a little bit of a pickle, to be able to get out of it like he did, it’s a good thing,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said.Rodriguez hit a solo homer in the ninth.The White Sox have won nine of their last 12.TRANSACTIONDetroit recalled left-hander Josh Smoker from Triple-A Toledo. He came on in the seventh with two on and ended up walking in a run to make it 7-1.CONTROLKopech has gone five straight starts without a walk — three in the minors and two in the majors.TRAINER’S ROOMWhite Sox: Renteria said slugger Jose Abreu (lower abdominal surgery) is doing well and is expected back this season.Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) pitched four innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo, and LHP Blaine Hardy (left elbow tendinitis) worked an inning in the same game.UP NEXTChicago begins a three-game series against the Yankees in New York on Monday night. Carlos Rodon (5-3) starts for the White Sox against Masahiro Tanaka (9-4).Detroit has Monday off before a two-game set at Kansas City. Matthew Boyd (8-11) starts the opener Tuesday night against Jakob Junis (6-12) and the Royals.